The second phase of the will render the East Port Said Port the leading hub in the East Mediterranean, reports Mohamed El-Sayed Capitalising on booming international trade, Egypt has launched a major expansion of a container terminal which will take shipment in the Suez Canal to new horizons. After months of negotiations, the Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT) signed a concession agreement for the second phase of the East Port Said container terminal. The agreement, was signed in late September between the ministry of transportation and SCCT. According to the agreement, the second phase will take the space of 600,000 square metres, making the total area of the terminal 120,000 square metres. SCCT officials said the terminal would be able to handle 5.1 containers annually by 2011. In addition, it will also double the current number of jobs created in the terminal from 1,250 to 2,500 -- 99 per cent of them occupied by Egyptians. "We are excited to launch this new expansion for our customers, which will play a vital role in their global supply chains," said Jens Floe, managing director of SCCT. "Equally important, we are creating the port infrastructure necessary to position Egypt as a leader in world ports," he added. The company will pay LE280 million in investments in the second phase. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif is expected to visit the site to lay the foundations of the second phase of the terminal within the coming few days. Operated by APM Terminals, SCCT is an Egyptian joint venture company (public-private partnership) with 55 per cent of its capital owned by APM Terminals, 20 per cent by COSCO, 10 per cent by the Suez Canal Authority, five per cent by the National Bank of Egypt and 10 per cent by the Egyptian private sector. Having won a 49-year concession, it began operation in 2004 over an area of 600,000 square metres and is equipped to handle 2.55 million containers annually. Since that date, the terminal handled more than 4.3 million containers. "The company also plans to win a concession to build the third phase of the terminal to be built along 450 metres of the port," said Floe. In fact, the outstanding location of the terminal at the northern entrance to the Suez Canal arguably offers great opportunities for ocean carriers due to its proximity to the East Mediterranean and Black Sea markets. Located on one of the world's major cargo routes between Asia and Europe, the terminal enjoys a strategic location that provides world-class services to ocean carriers. It has helped containers reach international markets in record time. And given that the Suez Canal is serving as one of shipping's largest crossroads, the terminal, experts say, is considered a perfect Mediterranean trans- shipment hub for north-south and east-west liner services, helping vessels to save fuel, cost and time. The terminal gains more importance in light of the fact that global container trade is on the rise. In fact, the trade grows at 10 per cent annually, which places increasing demand on ports. In 2001, the number of containers handled at ports was 247 million, before it jumped to 442 million in 2006. A report published recently by Lloyd magazine, the world's most famous maritime transportation publication, ranked the Egyptian port the sixth biggest Mediterranean container port. The entire area of East Port Said Port is planned to be the site of a number of free trade zones that will attract foreign investment to the area. Investment opportunities inside the port, according to port officials, could also be of great interest to Egyptian and international investors. These activities, including loading, unloading, stripping, stuffing, bulk storage, tank storage, general warehousing, and distribution centres, are among the logistics services that investors can pipe their money into. According to Sherine Hassan, chairman of Port Said Ports Authority, there is a plan to transform the area behind the terminal into an industrial one, where raw materials coming on board ships can be manufactured and then exported. There is also plans to establish an agricultural and tourism zones behind the terminal on a nearly 29 million square metres. This area, according to officials, could be used for transit container storage, value-added activities and logistic centres. Other investment opportunities in the area, according to Port Said officials, include establishing electronic assembly, packing, and distribution factories inside the port. In addition, manufacturers can develop value-added industries, especially those related to maritime trade in the industrial area of nearly 87 square kilometres that could be utilised in other industrial fields. A recent report issued by the World Bank highlighted the importance of the East Port Said Port. "With its prime location at the head of the Suez Canal and vast hinterland for expansion, it is hoped that development of the area will serve as an engine for economic growth," said the report which was issued in April 2005, commenting on the great growth potential of Egypt's most promising new terminal.
